Brits develop smart pen of the future

(IDG) -- For those who have never progressed past the hunt-and-peck
method of typing, British Telecommunications' research
laboratory has come up with a prototype of an intelligent pen that
records writing and translates it into text on a
computer screen.

Dubbed SmartQuill, the sleek and stylish prototype pen is different from
other electronic pens on the market today in
that users don't have to write on a special pad in order to record what
they write. Instead, SmartQuill contains sensors
that record movement by using the earth's gravity system, whether you
write on paper or in the air. SmartQuill isn't all
space-age, though -- it contains an ink cartridge so that users can see
what they write down on paper.

"Why should people use a keyboard when they can use a pen?" said John
Collins, project manager for SmartQuill at BT
Labs. Many people have never learned to type quickly and accurately, but
everyone knows how to write, he pointed
out.

People could use the pen in the office to replace a keyboard, but the
main attraction will be for users who usually take
notes by hand on the road and type them up when returning to the office,
Collins said. SmartQuill will let them skip the
step of typing up their notes, he said.

The pen works in conjunction with a regular PC, onto which users install
special handwriting recognition software
developed by BT Labs, Collins said. The lab has several SmartQuill models
in the works, including one that
communicates with the PC via a radio transmitter, but the current
prototype hooks up to a PC via a cable and electronic
docking station called an "inkwell." It can also be connected to printer
or modem.

Users write down notes in their regular handwriting and the movements are
stored within SmartQuill. Up to 10 pages of
notes can be stored locally on the pen, Collins said. Once the pen is
hooked up to the computer, the handwriting
recognition software translates the movements into text on-screen. Unlike
many handwriting recognition programs, the
SmartQuill system analyzes movements instead of shapes, Collins said.
This allowed BT to get rid of the electronic
notepad associated with most computer pens.

SmartQuill contains a few local applications such as an address book,
daily planner, and calculator. Users can enter
information into these applications by pushing a button on the pen and
writing down what they would like to enter,
Collins said. There is also a small three-line screen to read the
information stored in the pen; users can scroll down the
screen by tilting the pen slightly, he said. Future models could receive
e-mails and pager messages via a wireless
messaging system and could use digital signature recognition for security
purposes.

BT is hoping to license the SmartQuill concept to interested hardware
manufacturers, and believes a product will be on
shelves within two years, Collins said. The price tag could hover around
200 pounds sterling -- $340 or more -- but no
pricing has been set as of yet, he said.

At the moment, SmartQuill works best when users write in capital letters,
but BT Labs is working on improving the
handwriting recognition software and expects it to understand cursive by
next year. In the future, Collins predicts there
will be a whole range of SmartQuill pens -- everything from a high-end
model for executives to a basic one for kids to
use in school.

Kristi Essick is a correspondent in the Paris bureau of the IDG News
Service, an InfoWorld affiliate.